After reading the article linked above, comment on the following statements in the box below.
*Unlike your grandparent's generation, who were born and raised during the Great Depression, your generation is ill-equipped to make the sacrifices necessary to get the nation's finances under control.
*America is an economy in decline, and in the foreseeable future there is nothing on the horizon that will generate the type of economic growth we witnessed in the 1950s and 60s. Therefore, our country should anticipate at least a decade of economic stagnancy.
Click on the comment link below and a box will appear.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
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I think our generation needs to learn how to manage money better and to repay the money that is loaned by the bank. Also, I believe that people need to sacrifice fancy items and buy only the items needed to survive in society. The economy will stay stagnant until people and banks decide how to make choices on using money the right way.
ReplyDeleteI found the article to be very interesting. I think for the future, our generation needs to learn all there is about how to handle money so there wont be anymore bankruptcy or businesses closing down. The government needs to plan out a better strategy in how to distribute the money they have in the Federal Reserve.
ReplyDeleteGabby Franzone
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I agree that our generation is ill-equipped to make the necessary sacrifices to help control the nation's finances. Not many people alive in this generation have every had to experience making sacrifices in order to help the country. During WWII, the effects of the war were very visible. But today, nobody has had to make any obvious sacrifices even though we are currently involved in two wars
I agree that our economy is in decline but I believe that if changes were made to certain aspects of the government the economy will slowly start to get better. I think the government is way too big right now and all the government spending isn’t helping the economy. People should also have to pay higher taxes in order to help fund the wars and help improve the economy.
Gabby Franzone
Period 6
Amanda Toback
ReplyDeleteperiod 6
By reading this article I have learned that even though the United States's debt to GDP ratio is in line with other industrialized nations (England and France), the ratio is heading higher. In theory to solve this problem, the US should increase taxes and cut budgets. However, American citizens would never vote for something like that because nobody wants to pay higher taxes and recieve less services.
I believe that our country is not ready to make the sacrifices needed to maintain the nation's finances because people work very hard and do not want to individually contribute to this conflict because they do not want to give up what they have earned. People are just focusing on their own lives for the most part and want the most beneefits possible. They are not thinking about the long-term situations that our nation will have to face if the finances are not properly dealt with.
ReplyDeleteI think that people should have to pay higher taxes moreso than making budget cuts. People should not have to be shortcut from their income to supply for the nation. I think that our country needs to be more aware of the demand for funding wars and to more carefully consider their spending. It is important for the government to receive the necessary funds to properly maintain a growing economy that is stable.
Alexandra Sperling
Period 3
Right now we are in a recession and now would be a very poor time to raise taxes even though our government should, due to the amount of debt our country is in.
ReplyDeleteBetween unemployment, credit card debt, and homes that are in foreclosure (due to inflated interest rates)homeowners aare unable to pay their mortgage. Houses bought a number of years ago during the boom are now worth less than what they were purchased for.
The price of war is just part of this economic turmoil, people in the past two decades especially have been living beyond their means which has been a contributing factor as well. In our grandparents generation they saved and only bought what they could afford, they did not rely upon credit cards or credit lines to purchase items.
Marisa Beck
Period 6
Ryan Alain, period 3.
ReplyDeleteThe article mentioned budget cuts and tax increases to be politically unpopular, but of course its only through those two options does any nation and its government get out of debt and into surplus.
I believe The U.S just went way to long without anyone pointing out we were headed into a recession; but once it got here that was all you heard on the news for weeks. Sure My parents generation will complain about tax hikes and depending how soon the government enacts any so will my generation, but in the end a generation will grow up paying these higher taxes without ver knowing any better aside from their parents stories. I think what this article alludes to is only then will we begin to head in the right direction.
Danielle Irwin
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
I believe that although our generation is unprepared to make the sacrifices necessary to get our nations finances under control, I do not believe we are "ill-equipped" to. I believe that just as the older generations adapted and learned to make the sacrifices necessary to repay the national debt, our generation will also learn to adapt to a more conservative lifestyle.
I also believe that although our nation should not prepare for a decade of growth we should also not prepare for a decade of economic stagnation. I think that with new innovations and technology, we have the resources to keep our national debt at least even, while trying to grow our GDP to outweigh it.
Blair Cohen
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
I disagree that our generation is ill- equipped to make the sacrifices needed to get our nations finances under control. Our generation is just as capable to make the same sacrifices that our grandparents made during WWII. However, it will be difficult for our generation to fix the economy because nobody wants to pay higher taxes.
In order to fix the US economic problems, americans will need to work hard. They should not be forced to face stagnancy but unfortunately these will be the consequences.
Blair Cohen
Period 3
Whitney Fenelon Period 6
ReplyDeleteOf yes! The children of my generation are not equipped to handle/have America's finances under control. All WE are focused on is getting the latest fashion trends down and videogames. WE are not focused on savin our money for the future. WE are not focused on saving money for a rainy day.
In the future we will probably increase our economic situation as long as we have produce what this generation wants. It will probably struggle for a whion the econmic decline.
Adam Abecassis
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
I dont agree with the statement that our generation is ill prepaired to make the appropriate sacrifices nessicary to get our economy out of the dumpster. Sacrifice is stemmed from the need to change. No one just changes because times are good and im sure our grandparents would have been the social equivelent to us had the 1920s been as good as the 90's and early 2000s. However it wasnt and people adapt to the world they are given. In time, our generation will learn to adapt until the economy rights itself.
I also disagree with the statement that our economy will remain stagnant for a decade. I dont believe that our economy will even remain stagnant for half of that time. America today is always on the brink of that next major discovery or that next piece of information or technology that will send the world into a new age. With that kind of growth and discovery evident in our society you can not compair our current time to that of the 1950s. The country boomed because it saw an end to two major wars and people stopped financing the war effort and poured all of there money into the entrepeneurial world, causing the economic boom in that time period. Compared to Korea and World War II, The war in Iraq and Afghanistan are minimal in size and cost(not price). Can we expect the instant boom that came from the end of the Korean war? No, but we can expect a steady increase in the economy starting a few months ago when the recession was at its worst. Innovation and entrepeneurship will lead this country out of stagnation soon enough
Nichole Main
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I do not agree that our genertation is "ill-equipped" to make the sacrifices nessacary to help the debt. If the right programs are put in place to help control the debt and people are taught to make the right sacrifices to help turn the debt around. We maybe very differet and more need based and spend more money then our grandparnets did but we are still capable of fixing the problems we created. Although no one wants to pay higher taxes its is one of the only ways to cut away at the debt and it is a sacrifice people are going to have to take in order to get rid of this problem.
I agree with the comment that our generation is "ill-equipped" to do what is necessary to lessen the debt. The fact of the matter is that in order to shrink the debt, taxes must be raised and government spending must be cut. I for one am not in favor of doing any of this, which shows how ill-equipped my generation and I are to do what is necessary for success.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do believe that eventually the debt will get so outrageous that we will have no choice but to become equipped. So while now we are ill-equipped, life is survival of the fittest and it is only a matter of time before we must become well-equipped or become a poor nation.
Jonathan Lieberman
Period 5
I truly believe in everything this article is talking about. Especially when it is saying that our current society is "ill-equipped" to deal with this situation. This is 100% correct because we are not in any means of it, the future leaders of tomorrow and the general public will not be able to deal with all of the debt in our country unless there is an action taken. The WWII generation were completely different people than the young adults of today, they were willing to pay higher taxes and take the steps needed to not be in debt so much, also the GDP to debt ratio was not as polar opposite and more of a narrow gap unlike today's economic situation. Currently the American society owes over 12 trillion dollars, that to me is insane how could we have let the debt get so high without instituting a plan to pay it off? We as Americans need to find a way of paying it off somehow someway in the near future because by the time that my generation is 40 or 50 we will be in a huge mess. Perhaps this may be by tax increases or another method but all in all action needs to be done. We need to look back on the past and model ourselves after the people of the WWII generation and their open mindedness about debt. Hopefully in the future through education and action about this current situation we will be in a lot better place economically.
ReplyDeleteMichael Schopler Period 5
Michael Miller
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
I agree 100 percent that our generation is no way prepared make the necessary sacrifices to acheive economic stablilty. We as young adults still rely on our parents for funding and would not be able to give up anything. I beleive instead of spending all money we get on useless goods now, we should save for the future so if any economic problems arise we have the money to be able to save our selves. Our grandparents have all the knowledge to help save out economy, we just need to sit down with them and ask them what they did to keep the money in their pockets and not spend it.
I disagree with the second statement about 50 percent, our economy is in a decline but there are always options to bring us out of it. We are still producing alot of cars, but not many people are buying them. One way to increase money in the US is to slow the production of cars until all a majority are gone from the market, and then while alot of cars are being bought and factories are not open, move the recources over to making a utility that many people need to survive.
Michael Miller
Period 3
Our country is close but not currently ready to make the sacrifices of giving up luxuries to better our economy. Overspending and credit card debt are the overwhelming treds. However, people will learn from mistakes in this generation and hopefully teach thier children so that eventually the sacrifices will be made and the American economy will improve as it has before.
ReplyDeleteKate Leone Period 6
Dana Sablosky
ReplyDeletepd 3
My generation needs to learn the value of a doller. Alot of teenagers today are depending on their parents for money to go to the mall, movies and shopping. I think that if more teenagers would work for their money they would understand that it takes work to earn money.My grandparents understood that and my generation needs to face the facts that one can not just live off their parents forever.The government needs to raise taxs and stop spending all there money in foreign affairs and help the americans.
Brittany Saraga
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
I also do not believe that our generation is "ill-equipped". I feel that everyone, at the moment, is scared and unaware of what the correct next step may be. Just as many adult leaders and politicians have made bad recent judgments regarding our governments' finances; our generation only has their generation to learn from. By raising taxes, all the government would be doing is discouraging the citizens even more instead in ensuring in them the confidence we all need to go forward. It is clear the economy needs a boost, and the way to that is for the people to have confidence in their economic purchases. The more confident consumers are, the more likely they will be to support the economy; by once again supporting retail and service businesses. Continuous "bail-outs" and taxes can not carry the economy forever, we need to be patient and have the confidence that it will recover over time.
Brittany Springsted
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
I agree with the first statement, that our generation is ill equipped in making sacrifices necessary to get the nation’s finances under control. In the past couple years, there have been many advances in society, and people, generally, want to experience those new “toys”. (Such advances include the iPhone, iPod, etc.) In my opinion, this is the major issue. If more teenagers pay attention to what is happening in the news and with the economy, more teens would begin to comprehend the trouble that we, as a country, are in right now; and with a possible incentive placed upon them, more teens could put down the unimportant items they once purchased and help fix the economy in the long run.
I disagree with the second statement made about the future economy being just as bad as the economical state right now. Just because it has not been a bright and cheerful economic period, it does not mean the future will be the same. If changes are implemented, like the creation of new jobs, and cheap loans being made to big businesses to create new products/develop new technologies, it could boost the economy. In the 50’s and 60’s, new technology and advances were made which sparked the economy and made it flourish. In my opinion, there is so much more in our society to develop and work on that there could be endless possibilities to advance the economy.
I do not really agree to either of the statements. Our generation is still growing, and we are constantly learning from the current generation about politics, economics, and--obviously--our economy. This coupled with the energetic and innovative minds of the youth will most certainly help us in being able to figure out what is and is not necessary to keep to help us regain economic stability.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the second statement--while it is true that history does indeed repeat itself, this is not always the case. It is not wise to anticipate that the future will be completely the same as the past. Anything can happen, so we must remain vigilant and adapt as necessary.
Cole Levi
Period 6
After reading this article i believe that the government should not be making large amounts of budget cuts. People with already low paying jobs shouldn't be suffering even more due to our economy. I think that higher taxes should be payed like they used to be. Our generation is not "ill equipped" we will be able to fix our money situation it will just take time, cooperation, and patience. There are many issues that still need to be worked out. There needs to be a balance by how far to take these budget cuts on jobs, which creates unemployment and why the percent of unemployed people is so high today. If everyone pays the right amount of taxes even if they are high it could possibly decrease the amount of unemployed people we have and create enough money in industries or factories to hire more people.
ReplyDeleteOur economy cannot be fixed with just the snap of our fingers we will just have to wait and see.
Alicia McLean, Period 4
Danielle Levine, Period 5
ReplyDeleteAlthough it will be difficult to rebound from the state that our economy is currently, I do not believe that we are "ill-equipped" to make sacrifices. True that World War II was a finite cause, but I believe that we are an ever-adapting country and we will grow and learn in order to help ourselves get out of this situation. I think that with the right combination of leaders, we will be able to get out of this mess eventually. It may take years, but we will be able to overcome the damage.
Also, there is no telling what the future will bring. Who in the 1950's and 60's ever thought that one day you would be able to carry 130 MB worh of music around in your pocket? Bam, we have iPods. Someone could be devising the next unimaginable wonder at this very moment that could help bring back money into our economy.
John Durgan
ReplyDeleteperiod 3
I agree that our generation is "ill equipped" to make that sacrifices need to get the nation's finances under control. Our generation has never experienced anything that would demand for the nation to make sacrifices. I believe that our generation is not capable of makeing the neccessary sacrifies and the older generations did in the past right now. We as a generation today are more for the individuals. We dont see the big picture for the economic future. I believe we should make our generation aware of the economic situation so they can contribute to the economic struggle right now. Im sure in the 50's and 60's there were people who though that there would be no economic growth in the forseeable future. I believe in the near future our generation can become aware of the economic system and help the economy grow
Brielle Appelbaum Period 6
ReplyDeleteAs a young adult in todays society I consider myself one of the few who are financially literate. The staggering rates at which men and women in their 20's claim bankruptcy is overwhelming all due to their misunderstanding of finances and government obligations. I completely agree with your statement about my generation being unable to handle this type of recession. Instead of being born in a production economy we were born in a self centered consumer one. In order for generation X to understand and support that a larger income tax or any type they need to be educated and understand their obligation to progress their country out of debt, not keep them in it.
Furthermore, I do agree with your economic stagnancy comment. Our generation is the "Now" generation, if we don't get what we want immediately motivation is usually depleted as well as moral. Unfortunately we have passed that motivational stage, as seen in the stagnancy of president Obama's health care reform, and are still in a slumping decline as compared to the job market reports. Therefore our country is most likely going to be in this situation until debts are paid off and we slowly turn to be a capital/producing economy.
Zoe Steinberg
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
I think that's it's unfair that our generation has to make the sacrifices to pay back the debt from previous generations. The choices made over the last 20 years which created short term prosperity also created an enormous burden of paying for those choices for our generation.
I think that we are equipped to pay back the debit because we will make the sacrifices we need to make but it will require many of us to live differently from the way we were raised as a generation in a time of prosperity.
Samantha Klasfeld
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
According to the article:
“Lower taxes stimulate the economy, and raising taxes in a recession is a nearly sure-fire way of deepening the recession. Nevertheless, tax cuts add to the deficit if the government doesn’t rein in spending.”
Right now America is stuck between a rock and a hard place, but in terms of the first statement, I do not think we could compare the generations in terms of willingness to make sacrifices. The two ideas are almost mutually exclusive because no one could say that anyone is ready for a Great Depression. As a matter of fact, I believe in the face of scarcity it does not matter what generation you are, but anyone will pursue changes for utility. Though, if anything, living in the information age, we should have more historical “experience” to understand the economics behind our financial situation, but so far we do not so both generations are equal.
In terms of the second statement, I think it will be not exactly correct. The current government has been working hard to pass bills to help the recession and I believe they will eventually compromise to form a better plan. Like Harvard’s Koehn from the article I believe “Businesses have cut so hard that any uptick in the economy should force them to hire and invest.” Therefore, moderate economic growth will occur slowly over the decade instead of pure stagnancy. The businesses will help grow the economy, but it is not the total cure like that found in the 1950s and 60s.
Ellie Faust
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
Our generation is not prepared to make the more extreme sacrifices that our grandparent's generation. We do not feel that the debt is our responsibility so we are not willing to make the sacrifices needed to control the nation's finances. People do not want give the government any more of their money to pay the debt for wars they no longer believe in.
I agree that it will take an extended period of time for the economy to fully recover. Budget cuts need to be made and unnecessary spending needs to stop. The economy will get better but it is a slow process.
I agree with the fisrt comment, that our generation is ill-eqiped to make the sacrifices necessary to fix the economy. It is not easily attainable, but it is not untrue either. The last time that America was in an economic mess similar to this one was decades ago, when American citizens were more disciplined when it came to money. Today, people pay hundreds of dollars for gaming systems and other frivilous products, that their financial focuses have shifted. America today would not be easily convinced to cut back on extras to instead pour thousands of their own money into taxes to help fix our economy. Most people today do not have the knowledge and understandidng to pull the country out of this debt, but as mentioned above, it IS possible, just not very likely.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the second comment that there is nothing on the horizon to pull America out of this debt. America is mostly a market economy, where thousands of people opening businesses every year. These businesses need employees, and will employ thousands of people as well. This will help give people jobs and more money to invest and spend. I believe that it will not be too long until enough new businesses succeed and begin to slowly fix America's financial process.
Mallory Levy P6
McKenna Moller
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
Our grandparent's generation had higher taxes and a smaller government which enabled them to recover their debts quicker and efficiently. Our generation is far more limited and definately ill-equiped in doing a similar process in a short period of time due to the larger government and new agencies. Our generation definately feels not responsible for the debt in our country and doesn't wish to sacrifice anything for our country's financial issues. Spending for the war has increased greatly now then it was for WWII. There is a higher demand for raw materials such as oil. Raising the taxes would just cause the economy to further recession. By slowing down the deficit, it can enable the government to catch up and lower the debts. However, it will take years before anything will have a significant change.
Ryan Toimil aka "the situation"
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
I believe our generation is ill-equipped to handle the burden of regaining control of our economy. Sacrifice must be made by all social classes, especially the wealthy classes that spend money on ostentatious wants and use resources like they're gong out of style. Our grandparents' generation was able to build a strong economy with the help of the government that was then small and didn't spend so much money on different agencys and departments. Also, everybody (including movie stars and others from the upper class) would buy war bonds back in the times of World War 2, so the government was able to raise crazy amounts of money. The government is now bigger and uses more money for wars and bailouts, which is making the process of growing national finances much slower. Our generation will need to sacrifice a lot of our wants for only what is needed and pay much higher taxes in order to regrow the economy. This means that when I grow up, i'll sacrifice my private hawaiian island (and maybe even my private jet) for the gain of the economy.
I believe we have it in us to generate economic growth in the next decade. Factors of production are high and the debt-to-GDP ratio is increasing. If our country unifies on this issue and actually tries to solve it, we will find our way out of this economic crisis.
Bryan Franchi
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
I'm going to go ahead and agree with all of the comments claiming that our generation is not very well-equipped to handle and fix what is going on with our economy right now. In 1932, the top tax rate was 63%, and in 1944, it flew to 94%. People willingly paying that type of money nowadays is unfathomable. Our grandparent's generation made some major sacrifices. Sacrifices our generation is in no way willing to make. This, coupled with the rising demand for natural resources, increased government spending, and two wars going on is going to take our generation more than a few years to turn this around.
Cliff notes: This ain't good.
Jared Mizel
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I believe that my generation is equipped to make the necessary sacrifices to get finances under control. During the Great Depression, the government was not involved in developing programs to help the economy like it is today. With the help of these programs, the people are even more equipped to bring the economy back to health. There is more room for growth now with a larger world economy then there was in the Depression. People discredit my generation, when in fact it may be just the thing to bring the economy out of the current situation.
The American economy has been in a decline for the past several years, but I believe that a combination of efforts will bring the economy out of recession as seen in the 1950s and 60s. In the past couple months, the economy has slowly begun to pull itself out as evidenced by the trends in the stock market. There are going to be fluctuations of the market, as we have seen yesterday and today with the loss of almost 400 points, but the market will rise. The country needs to come together on the plans to help the economy as a whole, and the little stagnant moments or drops will diminish as we bring the economy out of this turmoil.
Paige Bell
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
I think that our generation may be hindered in the future, due to previous debt; however we are not ill-equipped to make the necessary sacrifices to get finances under control. With new advances in technology and more people wanting a higher education, our generation has more potential than ever to figure out how to fix the economy. We may not get all of the benefits of social security and medicare that the previous generations had, but these are some sacrifices that must be made to ensure the county's future finances are under control.
Our economy may be in decline, but that is no reason to expect a future decade of stagnation. The economy fluctuates daily, and is completely unpredictable. Therefore, to expect a complete decade of stagnation would be unreasonable. The fact that the economy has not been doing well lately, only leaves room for it to improve.
Tiffany Shierling P.3
ReplyDeleteI agree with both statements.
My generation, for the most part, were and still are being raised in households where parents do not teach rationing and saving. In todays society it is thought badely upon if you save and ration. So therefor the high school students right now do not realize that when they graduate and live on their own, they will not be able to have everything that they want as they do right now in their parents house. I do not think that this is all just our faults. Parents "baby" and shelter their kids up until the point of college graduation, and that is just not right and is one of the reasons that we are "ill-equipped" to make these decisions.
The second statement is 100% true. I personally believe that the "people in charge" now are not able or going to do anything compared to the "people in charge" in the 50s and 60s. Yes, they are making new jobs. But you cannot just unpave a road and repave it and think that the job is going to last a while. it will last at most a year. and that is only if the workers take a long time to do their job. Right now "the people in charge" are trying to copy leaders before them, when the situations have changed, and America's needs have changed. I plan for the economy to keep declining, and if it doesnt then that will be a nice suprise, but i do not count on it.
Our generation may be behind with the economy but I believe that this generation will be more successful with our future finance. This generation is under a lot more pressure and stress then any other generation. However, this will lead to a great outcome in the future. It has only been the few recent generation that have been going to college and thinking about it. Today, almost everyone wants to go to college. Competition for college and jobs is at it's pinnacle. The living standards have gone up, the expectations are high now for schools and jobs. This is pushing our generation to study harder and get that education to become successful in life. Along with the higher expectations of our generation, we have the booming technology. Every year, we have new technology to make our daily life easier. Just a decade ago we began to make smaller cell phones, today we have phones that are tiny, touchscreen and can do just about anything that fits your personality.
ReplyDeleteWith the better education and many more people attending colleges along with the rapid improvement of technology, our generation will be well prepared for the future economy. Today we still live with cultural lag, however, once we catch up to the expectations and the technology we will be more than just prepared for the future economy.
Dimitriy Shames P.5
Zakia Ilyas pd.3
ReplyDeleteIn a way, the first statement is true, but it is also wrong. Yes, our grandparents went through the Great Depression and learned how to make sacrifices which caused them to be better prepared for economic downfalls and war, but that does not mean that our generation is "ill-equipped" to also make sacrifices. We'll most likely have it harder than the previous generations, but I believe that by the time we become adults we'll have the knowledge to make the right decisions.
The second statement seems reasonable, but there is no way to know whether it will be true. During the last couple of years, the economy seems to have been on the downfall, but lately it has been looking a little bit better which gives us hope. In a decade we may still be in a recession, but it might be better than it is now.
Jaclyn Cohen
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
After reading this article i feel like these two statements are wrong. People now-a-days need to be willing to give up the stuff they don't need in order to provide this country with the support it needs. Even though our grandparents grew up in the Great Depression people should be willing to give up what they need in order to survive. People in this generation are not "ill-equipped" because we now have to make these sacrifices to save this country becasue the older generations have spent so much money going to war.
Jacob Ptak Period 4
ReplyDeleteI think we are ill equipped to fix our debt problem because no one is willing to do what must be done. As the article said, the way to cut the deficit would be lower taxes and less government spending. The politicians would never go along with this because they would not get elected if they said this, but it is as much the people's fault for not electing a politician that would be willing to get the job done.
I personally think that the United States is in decline economically, at least in proportion to the rest of the world, but i dont know if there is anything on the horizon to change that or not.
As an alternative we could always just take the easy way out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRgRz3nSG7o
Spencer Wilkins
ReplyDeleteperiod 3
I agree with the first statement.
My generation is full of people who are spoiled and spend their money aimlessly. Parents buy their children whatever they want, for the most part, giving them satisfaction now, but robbing them of the benefits learned by saving money. Their isn't going to be social security during our later years, so saving money would be very beneficial. Also, it is frowned upon if you are frugal. People who aren't spend thrifts are going to accumulate more money from savings in their future, so it shouldn't be frowned upon. Spending now gives you immediate satisfaction, not long term satisfaction.
I disagree with the second statement.
The economy has fluctuated up and down throughout the century. Just because we are in a decline now, doesn't mean we will be stagnant for future decades. With all of the increasing pressure on our generation to work hard and do well will help to better the economy. Our generation will have harder workers, which in the end would boost our economy upwards.
Estefania Asusta
ReplyDeletePeriod 6.
I completely agree with this article. This nation is somewhat ill equipment for handling the tremendous amount of debt we have accumulated. I say somewhat not because of our lack of technology but because of our lack of making sacrifices. The national spending limit was 12 trillion and then congress votes to raise it? The government should be an example to its citizens, and the government should be promoting new ways to handle it straight on, versus just raising the national limit. This sets a horrible example for the people, and does absolutely nothing to help our economy. If taxes need to be raised, then so be it. Actions need to be taken now in order to boast our economy. The estimate being about $40,000 per person in debt is completely absurd. Our generation is going to have to make sacrifices as our previous generation has. The reason I don't necessarily agree our generation is completely ill-equipped to handle this financial crisis. Our generation does have advanced technology and abundant potential to do more if we are willing make scarifies. Including all social classes everyone needs to help coast the economy make these opportunity costs in order to help ourselves and the future of our economy.
In my opinion, it is true my generation are not feasible to make the sacrifices that our grandparents made. People are more concerned in enteratinment, flaunting, and self-importance. Also, impulse buying is a major problem at this time. Our generation is not apt to make the sacrifices or learn from the Great Depression to help rebuld our economy.
ReplyDeleteWaleed Abdullah
I think that our generation really can't make the same sacrifices that past generations have made. The generation during the depression were able to slow down their speed limit but with us we have been raised to go as fast as the limit lets us as long as we get to where we need to go. I do not agree however with the statement that says that there is nothing on the horizon. America has been able to reduce their debts before to the point that it wasn't as much as a burden. Who is to say that we can't do it again?
ReplyDeleteMelany Briceno
p.5
I don't believe our/my generation is ill equipped to make the sacrifice necessary to get our financial problem under control. I think they are unwilling to give certain things up. But in the future hopefully we will learn to make necessary sacrifices.
ReplyDeleteI don't think will will have to face a decade of our current economic situation(hopefully). Our leaders will have to make the correct choices and decisions, also with a little bit of luck can never hurt.
Anthony Zunker
p.6
I believe that my generation is capable of making the necessary sacrifices to get finances under control. The government was not involved in developing programs during the Great Depression like our economy is today. There is more room for growth now. By raising taxes, all the government would be doing is discouraging the citizens instead of giving them the confidence we need to go forward.
ReplyDeleteThe economy has been in a decline for the past several years. In the past couple of months though, the economy has slowly begun to pull itself out. The government has been working hard to pass bills. The country needs to come together as a whole on the plans to help the economy.
Erin Valle
Period 3
Michael Goodwin
ReplyDeletePeriod.3
I don't agree that my generation is "ill-eqipped" to make sacrifices but that we just plainly don't want to. Eventually, my generation could learn that sacrifices will need to be made but, we have never had to go through a time like we are going through right now so we are bound to make some mistakes. However, eventually we may learn to be more weary with our money.
I agree that America will most likely experience an economic stagnancy during the next ten years. As the article stated "fighting a war is one of the most reliable ways to create a big debt". Britain just finished paying off its WWII debt to the U.S. in 2007, WWII was over 60 years ago!!! If the economy is ever going to change for the better than it won't till America finishes fighting this war. Military spending is costing hundreds of billions of dollars. So the government has a giant whole in its wallet right now and can't afford to stimulate the economy as well as it could if there wasn't a war. So until this war is over and Americans learn to be wiser money spenders, America doesn't have too much going for her.
Stefano Pindo
ReplyDeletepd. 6
I completely agree that our generation is "ill equipped" to make the sacrifices needed to get the nation's economy back to what it once was. Our generation has never been under these circumstances and experienced the financial need to get our money straight. I wholeheartedly believe that our generation is uncapable of making the sacrifices necessary to aid the ailing economy. We are unable to give up the constant purchasing of the new fad to fit in; but the older generations did in the past what we are unable to do right now. As a more advanced generation than our elders, one would think that this "crisis" would be just another bump in the road, yet we made it into something more. The older generations used to give up every waking hour and work two or three jobs. Most of the people in our generation would rather spend the money that their parents have worked for. We, as a generation, are ill informed about the problems we could face and are too busy living in the now. I believe (more of a hope) in the very near future, our generation will become versed on the problems at hand and the problems we will face if we don't take care of this now. Hopefully, we can get passed this "recession" and have our economy bloom once again as it did after the depression.
I believe that we are illequiped to to lower the national deficit. Our generation has been brought up to spend every penny that we earn instead of investing or saving our money for the future. Back during the depression our grandparents learned to save their money and to purchase only the essential items to be able to live. We wouldn't be able to do this since we have been raised in a technological era and we all want to purchase the latetest technology goods. Also during our grandparents time they allowed for high taxes to be put upon them while our generation complains about a minute tax raise. Our grandparents were able to buckle down and get to business while all we do is party and have fun. I believe that if we don't change our ways alwe will not be able to lower our national debit and we will be stuck having to pay for it for years to come. We must stop useless spending. If we continue our ways we will have a very dark future and a ever growing national debit.
ReplyDeleteRamon Batista
Period 5
Kyle Will
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
Just because we havn't had to yet, doesn't mean that our generation is ill equipped to make the necessary sacrifices to help mend our broken economy. As the article said, all of the rationing during the depression was government mandated. Our grandparents didn't choose to use only four gallons of gas a week, it was decided for them by the government that ruled them. I'm pretty sure it is safe to say that everyone in my "ill equipped" generation has already been affected by our great recession. Though the cutbacks may be small (like only going to starbucks on LTM days and not every day) or large, like taking on a part time job to cover personal expences that our parents just can't afford, everyone is taking small steps to combat our nation's issue. And if our governement decided to mandate sacrifices our generation would comply for the good of our country.
According to Wikipedia (very reliable) the industries in the 1950's and 60's that experienced the most economic growth were: the Aeronotics (Thank you NASA and the Space Race) and the Computer Science (AOL!) industries, and although a huge breakthrough in computer science is unlikely, on Novemeber 24, 2009 Obama expanded Nasa's budget to 3 billion dollars, (up 800 million from last years 2.2 billion) (Nasa.gov) continuing our space programs comfortable growth since the 60's. The current need for alternative fuel, and breakthroughs in biotechnology and stem cell research are booming fields full of economic promise. The real problem to me doesn't seem to be a stagnant economy, just too small of tax brackets.
Rita Yagudaev
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
I think that responding to the first statement from the perspective of someone living in the same environment that we do is slightly unfair. It seems to me that our surroundings here have caused our generation to become "ill-equipped" to make sacrifices necessary to get the nation's finances under control. However, this isn't necessarily true to the rest of "our generation" living in other places. It is true that we have grown up as consumers but I think that the environment has a lot to do with it. For example, my little sister is growing up in Boca Raton and honestly the stories she says about how this friend got an iTouch for her 11th birthday and another friend got a Blackberry for her 10th birthday; it doesn’t really sound like anyone is going to be willing to sacrifice something in the near future. I grew up in Brooklyn and it's actually two separate worlds. The closest anyone got to an electronic device was a GameBoy Color. I do understand that everything is readily available for us but I think nobody has any limits. Another very large factor to the way our generation is growing up is that we hardly see the direct effects of the nation's financial problems. My parents tell me stories about how they had to wait whole days in line just to get bread. I think the world we have fabricated for ourselves is what will cause the future problems. As for the second statement, I think if the country sits there and anticipates nothing progressive then there probably will be at least a decade of economic stagnancy. As long as there is constant thought and debate on the matter, we might be able to get out of this mess. I mean, if they could do it in the 1950’s and 1960’s we could surely achieve the same economic growth today. We are “more advanced” now, right?
I agree thatbour nation is ill-equiped to make the necessary sacrifices to get our nation's debts under control because people today don't know how much worse our economic situation could be and how much greater our lives could be affected.
ReplyDeleteBack in the war, people had to struggle greatly in order to support their familiar and they had a push of survival that helped them be more determined to make money. While as nowadays, people don't have that push because we don't realize how much worse things could be. If people were put in the situation of those of previous generations we would appreciate money to a greater extent and we would make many more efforts to contribute to te relief of our country's debt.
Nicole McKenna period 3
I do not think our generation is ill-eqquiped to make the appropriate sacrafices to regain control of our nation's finances, but rather, we are unwilling. The two wars the U.S is currently involved in are less popular among the American people than WII was in the 1940s. People are less willing to make sacrafices to a war they dont necessarily agree with even though we are perfectly capable of making such sacrafices.
ReplyDeleteThe economy has been in decline for the past several years. However, the economy goes through cylces of growth and decline. It is the job of the government help regulate this process. If the government can't "find the right balance" between raising taxes and cutting government spending then I agree that the economy will stay stagnant for the next 10 years.
Deanna Wiese
period 3
Nicolette Finizio
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
It is true that today's population is ill equipped to adapt. This generation does not have the depression and post depression experience of living on less and saving more that the post world war 2 generation did. Today's population has lived through the past 25 years with a great deal of prosperity and high levels of disposable income. Changing spending and savings patterns against that backdrop will be extremely difficult and as a result, the problem with the debt and it's worsening, especially if interest rates rise, will be with us for a long time.
I believe that the nation, even in spite of the above, could make the changes if there was constant education to the younger portion of the population regarding the needs for savings. If there were more savings, and less frivolous expenditures, there would be more investment capital available for expansion of the economy through business development and job creation.
I strongly agree with the statement that our generation is “ill-equipped” in order to get the nation’s finances under control. Today, our generation tends to always want more. Nothing seems to satisfy anyone anymore. Today, young adults are unaware on how to spend money wisely. They are not willing to make the necessary sacrifices needed in order to help our economy. People in our society today have allowed over a 10 trillion dollar debt to pile up. During the Great Depression and WWII, Americans seemed to have their priorities in line. Unlike today, were Americans are more concerned about what kind of car they drive or the clothes they have rather than the amount of money they have in the bank. We as Americans today tend to put a greater value on luxuries rather than our everyday necessities. Young adults need to stop living for the moment are learn to prepare for the road ahead. At this rate our future seems very grim. As for the second statement, I disagree. At this moment in time it seems as if we will never get out of this economic decline. But I’m sure the same thought was going through the peoples mind during the 50’s and 60’s. There is always hope. If Americans today become a little more conscientious of our economic problem, I am sure that we will be able to change our economic problem in the near future.
ReplyDeleteGrant Gullo
Period 3.
todays world is much different than the world that our grandparents grew up in, and to compare our generation to theirs means nothing. i do believe that we can learn form our past but look at this very homework assignment;it is completely void of any means that the 1930S had. the driving industry in our country has morphed into something where nothing is made nor tangible. our number one export is money and there is no signs that that will change in the future. everyhing we buy is fractioned off to other countries; a few pennies to china for making the product,some change to russia for supplying the plastic. it'S ridiculous that our country has gotten too snobby to make anything. but then again our lifestyles cannot be maintained with the salary of a factory worker. the deficit is gigantic and its growing every second of every day. but this number that seems so fake and intangible has obviously not hit americans hard enough. lifestyles haven't changed and its not like obama plans on keeping his hands in his pockets the next 3 plus years. though not the sexiest or loudest politician in the crowd, ron paul was driven by the only important issue in todays politics. and that was being financially responsible. what needs to be done to fix this big oozing problem is to put someone like Paul as obama's financial advisor. cutting spending may not be much approved but it is necessary. talking about a problem doesnt fix the problem. we need action, we need a firm unwavering budget that will kick the deficit back a couple steps. this whole issue however is very ironic because our government is like a superimposed image of an average American citizen. they make a decent living but behind the flashy car and house is their personal deficit in the form of mortgages and car loans. so its time not only for our govrnment to make a move but for its people to also make a move. they say that my generation isn't ready for all of america's problems, well what about the current generation in charge? you guys suck. how are we supposed to learn any differently when you are our leaders. the american dream has fallen. its not the opportunity to make it big but the opportunity to look big with a trail of debt behind you. all the fed needs to do is be conservative. the consumers will keep consuming and this economic cycle is just like any other cycle. which means it will end. let's stop being negative for a change and lets make a difference.
ReplyDeleteRADFORD CROUPPEN!
KYLE GROSSMAN
ReplyDeletePERIOD 3
I think that a decade of stagnancy is an under statement. We are talking about a nation with over $12.3 trillion in debt! Can you fathom this number? because I surely can not. We will be paying this debt back for many years to come (if we even CAN pay it back). I think that just paying the interest back on these loans will be a big enough problem as it is. Our economy needs growth. We don't need anymore dot com and real estate bubbles. For over 10 years now, we have been going from bubble to bubble trying to keep up with the American lifestyle of big homes, fancy cars, and other expensive items. It is now time to stop living in fantasy land and time to start opening pockets (to the government that is)!
Eddie Sears
ReplyDeletePer. 4
I think our generation is ill equipt to pay of the nations debts not because of our lifestyle, but in the position we were put in by our pretecessors. Unlike the post-WWII generation, our generation has to pay for a situation not caused by ourselves but caused by our parents who did not think of the concequences to their actions. More importantly, the post-WWII generation was followed by the baby-boom generation which, with the new influx of workers to the workforce, could stimulate the economy and have more people to pay off the debt than the people who caused it. In our case, the generation who caused the problems has significantly more people than our generation which leaves a much bigger strain to each individual in our generation. In other words, the debt could be split between more people in the baby boom generation as it can be now. The only solution to this problem is to produce an extremely well educated generation in their fields of work as well as economics. This way, the economy can be stimulated through new technologies as opposed to a larger workforce.
alex zuckerman-per.3
ReplyDeleteI do think our grandparents grew up in a totally different world, but you cant make generalizations about everyone my age. So far, no one has asked us to make real sacrafices, and those who have had to make sacrafices have done so. We were born into an age of prosperity and technological advances, it is hard for us to learn and cut back, but i feel that if it was necessary we could rise to the occasion and make our lives better, for every generation.
I dont believe the economy will remain stagnant, it has to get better or worse. Maybe we hit rock bottom, maybe we didnt. But as Americans we need to take care of each other, so the forseeable future can be bright. There is no rule that says we cant make a change for ourselves. I believe if everyone stood together, and wasnt so selfish, our lives could be more prosperous and happy.
Sunita Cyril
ReplyDeleteperiod 4
I disagree, i do not believe our generation is ill-equipped to make the sacrifices necessary to get the nation's finances under control. However, I do beleive that is more difficult for our generation to make sacrafices. In the past when people accepted higher taxes they were not in a recession and they could see their money going to an efficient use, thus creating economic growth witnessed in the 1950s and 60s. Now when people give money they become disappointed to what it is funding, such as bail outs that aren't "bailing out." This leads people to lose faith and trust in their government on how they will spend the people's money. This gives them justificatation to not make the sacrafies believed to help the economic crisis. With that said i do beleive our country should anticipate at least a decade of economic stagnancy.
I agree that were "ill-equipped" today, many demand a certain thing or more of it, leading many to go through debt. I beleive that many should start practicing in balancing their money more efficiently, thus causing them to learn from there mistakes financially. We also just need to take a few risks just like our grandparents did back in the depression.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with the second statement in which we "should anticipate at least a decade of economic stagnancy". Though we might be facing some problems in our economy, it does not mean that we cant easily get out of it. We have a lot more technology than in the 1950's and 1960's. Were more advanced technology-wise and we can fix our financial problems alot quicker than before and not take at least a decade.
Miguel Guadarrama
Period 3
Our nation is equipped to make the sacrifices necessary to get our country's finances under control. The article underestimates what people will do in order to survive and live the "American dream". After all, the generation that lived during the Great Depression didn't sacrifice their luxuries for the good of the country, they did it because it was required by the government. Therefore, it seems that in order for us to come together as a nation, the three branches of government need to get on the same page.
ReplyDeleteSaying that our country is looking at a period of economic stagnancy is a bad outlook. In order to get out of this recession we have to stay positive and support our government in the decisions they make. Hopefully by passing bills and positively investing our money our nation can overcome our poor economy.
Dave Korneluk
Period 6
As to whether or not our generation is "ill equipped" to make the sacrifices needed to get the nation's economy back to what it once was, I disagree. The 1920's society delt with its own problems; whether it was recovering from the war or depression, the government was able to assess their status and make appropriate decisions based on what might be the most effecting way towards recovery. At the time, the answer was raising taxes and having less government spending. Although the economy seemed to grow faster than the deficit did, the actions of the government are what truly helped bring the economy back to par. Now, also in a time of war and recession, we can make the same assessments that the government did way back when. Although our society today is more materialistic and less willing to make sacrifices, we must realize that in this world of unlimited resources we cannot always get what we want. Compromise will lead us to economic growth and America will once again prosper at its highest potential.
ReplyDeleteAs to whether or not we will see a decade of economic stagnacity, I also disagree. Though the 50's amd 60's saw a major economical growth in industry, agriculture and more, this new modern age has its hands on a whole new world of inovation that one couldn't even think of having back then. Scientific breakthroughs are becoming a reality and this is going to be a major part to how the economy may fix itself. Our modern world may not have that same boom as it once did, but we are seeing a generation of smarter and more equipt people that will be able to fix what a generation previous to ours has left for us to pick up the pieces. We have come out of plenty of recessions before and the system always manages to fix itself. History has shown that our system is very cyclical and as time goes on there are many patterns that will repeat itself, so there isn't anything stopping the same from happening now.
Ross Pugatch
Period
I agree with the first staement that we are ill-equipped to do what is necessary. Our generation was born in the age of computers and technology where almost every luxury we have we have turn into what we believe is a necessity. In turn it end up being hard to relinquish our luxuries because we have programmed in our head that we NEED these luxuries to survive.
ReplyDeleteI both agree and disagree with the second statement. The depression years did have an economic revival due to leaps and bounds in its luxuries and technologies such as the aircraft industry taking off (excuse the pun). Even though we cannot SEE whats coming next, it doesn't mean there won't be anything. Our time is also experiencing its advancement with not just luxuries (fuel efficient cars, alternative energy) but also in its necessities (medicine i.e. biotechnology).
I believe this statement has many truths but isnt necessarily true. I believe that this generation lacks descipline. Discipline meaning the ability to conrol spenidng behavior. We are unwilling to give up for the whole of everyone else. Comparing this to the past generations, they did not have credit cards or anything of that sort. They kept there money and they saved. Now, we have all of that and we just spend spend spend for our own comfort. We borrow tomorrows money for todays purposes or wants or desires.
ReplyDeleteI think we will see stagnancy because with our economy we will see a further reduction in the american working force. Due to the fact that more goods will be produced, manufactured in foregin countries, including china mexico taiwan and any other places where labor is cheap. Although there is an increase in the purchasing of consumer products, i don't think it will be beneficial to the US. This is because most of these products were imported from foreign manufacturers. The motto in the 1950's and 1960's was "made in the USA". They were the leading manufacturer of automobiles and most consumer products. Jobs were plentiful. We have not kept up with the change of times. We lost automobile manufacturing and production the most.
ERICA WANDER
PERIOD 4
Carlos Pinto
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I think that our generation lacks the ability to sacrifice some of their capital to help out the current situation because we grew up in a time where there was financial stability so now that there are financial problems, we cannot deal with it. Our grandparent's generation grew up during the Great Depression so they didn't mind making some sacrifices so that they could have some financial stability in the future. Today we have so many luxuries that we don't want to give them up by paying higher taxes. I hope that one day we can figure this out and fix our economic problems.
In the 1940's, the effects of World War II were clear on the past generation of Americans. It was a harsher environment to live in compared to now-adays where success is obtainable by anyone who wishes for it and many teens already have financial support from their parents. They have what their grand parents or great grandparents could only have dreamed for as teenagers. The newest of electronics, $30.000+ brand new cars. The fact is that Americans today would most definitely be incapable of making the sacrifices needed to settle the nation's financial crisis.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Zook January 21 at 10:24pm
ReplyDeleteAmanda Zook Pd. 5
I completely agree with this article. I believe that our generation will face many challenges like the ones from our grandparents generation during the Great Depression. These challenges might even be more severe because we have grown up in a totally different world. We may end up being more ill-equipped to make the necessary sacrifices in our current times rather than the sacrifices people in our grandparents time had to make. Everything is so different now and I think that it will be harder to make certain sacrifices now. People in our generation are not willing to give up costly luxuries and the newest technologies like people have in the past. It is unfortunate to think that our country should anticipate at least a decade of economic stagnancy. These current economic problems should not hold us back from our futures and I think it is unfair to say that there is absolutely nothing on the horizon to generate economic growth. There will always be some sort of problems in any economy. So hopefully, things will get better sooner than expected.
Daniela Tuberquia
ReplyDeleteperiod 5
I agree that our generation is incapable of making sacrifices needed to get the nation's economy back to what it was before. Our generation has never been under these circumstances of the financial need to get our money straight. I think that our generation is incapable of making the sacrifices necessary to aid the economy. We're not able of giving up the continuous purchases of the new fashion or other gadgets to fit in. As an advanced generation, we would think that this "economic crisis" would just be another obstacle. The older generations used to work much harder for what they have but, unlike most of our generation would rather spend the money. I believe that in the future, our generation will be knowledgeable about the problems that we are facing at this time and the problems we will face if we don't take care of this now. I hope that we can get over this recession that we're facing at the moment and our economy can rise all over again.
Mike Adler
ReplyDeletePERIOD 6
The mechanisms of today’s economic problems are very different than in the Great Depression. Instead of a major plunge in industrial production and contractions of monetary supplies, we’re dealing with huge amounts of bad debt and an overheated housing market. The remedy that’s being used to treat it today is giving money to Wall Street, which played a big role in creating the problem, and hoping that the money will somehow find its way back to the economy, but that didn’t happen. Wall Street simply used the money to sell off their bad debt at a great rate and kept the profits.
In this new generation, we need to understand the simple necessities in life and use them to our advantage. It is nice to have luxuries, but only hard work and profitable choices can change the economy around. Our ancestors new the right paths to take to become successful, but America as a whole now, does not seem to have the power to overcome these obstacles and turn the corner to success. We are too concentrated on getting rich rather than living out our purpose in life. It would be extremely difficult to get everybody to work together, and the bottom line is America is too worried about their pleasure now rather than look out for the future of ourselves.
Mike Adler
PERIOD 6
I agree with the article in a sense that we are facing and will have to face problems that our grandparents faced as well. I think that we will get through it just like they did. We might not have the type of leadership or sacrifices that the generation of the Great Depression did but we are faced with different problems and we will find the right way to overcome the obstacles of todays economy. People in todays society have become needy of their luxuries making it harder for them to make some sacrifices that need to be made to better our economy. I hope that we do see some form of movement within the economy, in the right direction, in the next few year because I know that we are capable of it.
ReplyDeleteLauren Chieffo
period 4
I believe that our generation is equipped to make sacrifices necessary to fix our financial crisis of today. I think that America, as a whole, has made it through many hard times and this is another that we need to get through. If people take time to realize what we are going through and start making sacrifices we will beable to overcome our financial issues. Today we have many more technological advances and this will drastically help us as compared to times before when they did not know as much.Sacrifices that we will have to make include increasing taxes and giving up things that we have but do not necessarily need. Also social security the way it was and we will need to cut down in government spending.
ReplyDeleteAbby Dusinberre
period 4
Ryan Alain, period 3
ReplyDeleteI agree our generation is not ready to sacrifice the way they did back in WWII. There was alot less to sacrifice then for one thing, such as carpooling and victory gardens and rationing the hardware stores. For one thing alot of buisnesses that made things like rubber and steel boomed during those times to help the war effort and im sure they were compensated which trickled down to the people by expansion or pay raises and such. Right now we are a nation of consumers and the only thing we have really are the imported luxuries, most of which we wouldnt know how to live without.
America could very well be on the frontier of alot of things. Stem cell research, cloning, and smarter ways to produce energy are all big topic issues. It only takes one leap or one idea really to become a marketable venture. However as far as the first two go, as a country of great opposition within itself, things like cloning and stem cells produce cultural lag where our morality cant keep up with the expanding sciences. I agree at least a decade for stagnancy before we get to the point we look into these frontiers as much as other countries have.
Steven Goldstein period 5
ReplyDeleteI believe our generation is not "ill equipped." Our generation has much more to sacrifice compared to the generation of WWII which only had to sacrifice a few things. America, during WWII and now, will make it through hard times. Although our sacrifices now are not as extreme as the generation during WWII, once the population as a whole realizes how important it is to save money and make positive financial choices, our economic situation will improve, and our desire for items we may not need will diminish.
Gordon Streisand
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
I do believe my generation is "ill-equipped" to get our nation's expenses under control. Unlike our grandparents, our generation was raised in a booming economy where there was little emphasis placed on sacrifice. Instead, our generation was taught to spend––spend money on consumer goods and invest in such things like houses, etc. Now, our citizens are paying, literally, for risky investments and consuming more than we could afford, namely, real estate. People were buying 300,000 dollar houses when all they could afford was a 100,000 dollar house. At the time, the price of houses was steadily increasing. But it soon turned south and many many people's houses were foreclosed. These people are casualties of the economic principles they were surrounded with...to spend. Our grandparents' generation would never have bought anything they could not have afforded because they were brought up learning how to scrimp and save and completely avoid financial discontent.
I also believe our economy may have to stagnate for another decade. As it stands now, the government is deadset upon pumping more and more government money into the economy to "stimulate" growth of business and "bailouts" to save struggling businesses. To me, this seems like trying to inflate a tire with a hole in it. Instead of pumping copious amounts of money into the economy, when the U.S. is already trillions of dollars in debt, the government should let the economy fix itself as it has in years past. Metaphorically, our economy is like a breathing cycle: inhalation and exhalation. The government needs to let our economy "breathe" rather than hook it up to its oxygen tank.
I agree with the statement that our generation is ill-equipped to make the sacrifices necessary to get the nation's finances under control. Our generation and, it appears, the generation of those in Congress, are not willing to give up their standard of living or spending for the economic good of the country or their families. It appears they would rather rack up credit card debt than change their lifestyle. If we the people are expected to sacrifice, the government should as well, with less spending and less taxation. If the country continues on the path it's on, it is very possible that we will see a decade of economic stagnancy.
ReplyDeletealex burgess period 5
I agree with the article. One of the most important things to do in this moment is reduce our deficit, starting with governmt expenses. We are involve in two wars that seems to never end. There is no point in spending the money in wars that are no beneficial for us, when many people is loosing their houses every day. The governmnt must learn how to manage their money correctly. If we decrease our national debt, meaning we have less to pay back and more to keep, it would be much easier to raise the economy. The economic situation in this moment is bad enought for the government to be waisting money. Also if a tax raise is necessary, in my opinion the government must do so. Even many desagree with it, it would be beneficial in a long period of time. furthermore in my opinion i think there is many people who is willing to do the sacrifice of pay more taxes. Our main goal is to raise the economy once again. If we did it in the past there is no reason why we should we able to do it again. Now we count with more technology, and more options to succeed. For that reason there souldn't be any excuse not to be the most powerful nation once again. We have the tools to do it, we just need actions. The economy will eventually raise, but with the deficit growing everyday, it doesnt matter how good our economy is when we owe trillions of dollars to countries like china. Meaning that regardless of how rich we seem, we owe everything we have. The main key is to reduce our expenses, increase our income by taxes, and help the economy to raise.
ReplyDeleteLaura Gomez
Period 6
This article perfectly depicted the aspects and nature of the economy. It thoroughly explained how we have literally seen drastic shifts in our American economy since WWII and the present. I feel that the contents/messages of this article are perfectly genuine and accurate, and I agree with the author 100%. The author of this article put sense into me and made me realize how we have abused our economy. The problem with debt and virtually every issue our economy is facing is that we live in a world where many people have a very hard time distinguishing between what's important and what is not quite so important. The United States of America consumes more than any country in the world. We import like crazy, yet we cannot seem to control our decisions. The consumption that we engage in translates to pure $$$$ all we do is spend. The facts are literally in front of our faces, our debt is literally at an all time high, yet some of our actions as a country do aid in fixing this issue, while others crush us even more. Another problem attatched to this (It is an accumulation of how silly our country acts, really) is that our government hides a lot from the public, and quite frankly wastes time, effort, and money on un-valuable things. For example, for the good or bad our country dumps billions of dollars into research, bailouts, importing....spending....it only pulls us down. to waste/spend money on war is obviously very highly debated, but in a time like now we can't expect spending to stop. Yet we spend countless of millions of dollars on combating a drug war that has been raging rediculously since the 60's. Our past generation made their own mistakes, yet the lifestyles we live today are surely the first thing that needs to turn around. It's not that we are ill-equipped to turn around our economy, America has a lot of power, we just tend to frolic around in our own meaningless tendencies. The ability to fix an economy is always going to be there, we just have to be mature in the way we think about decisions as well as how we carry them out.
ReplyDeleteBRENDAN SIMON PD. 5
I believe this article to be very accurate to the generation. The nation is in an unforeseeable debt and has engaged in wars and financial plans that have proven unsuccessful. The economy is currently in a motion that is fueled by a generation that loves to spend money. The "Ill-equipped generation" spends credit on money that they do not have and needs to learn how to conserve resources for future days ahead.
ReplyDeleteJeff Hark
period 5
Madison Pardina
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
I found this article to be very inspirational onto recovering this ongoing recession we are currently witnessing and suffering. The ease of Roosevelt persuading congress can not at all be compared to our current president Obama's interaction with our current congress, so by that alone solution options will be minimized. Also Obama's administration must not follow our previous president's footsteps engaging into unnecessary war spending.
Tori Cusack p.5
ReplyDeleteI agree that our generation is ill-equipped to make the sacrifices that our grandparents had to make in WWII. The biggest problem is that we haven't been asked to make any sacrifices such as paying more taxes. We are the only generation to go to war and not receive a tax increase. Instead, we have had a tax decrease since 2000. In order to decrease our debt, the government needs to downsize, cut spending and raise taxes. We need politicians to push the envelope and do things that aren't politically popular; staying in the same routine will only keep us in debt. Also, we need more industry and production in order to see economic growth like we saw in the 50s and 60s.
Elysia Volpe
ReplyDeletep.3
I do believe that my generation is "ill-equiped" to make necessary sacrifices to get the nation's finances under control because our generation appears to be more greedy than that of our grandparent's. During the Great Depression out grandparents were more willing to give up some luxuries. My generation appears to be the opposite and inste concentrates on the present and getting all the latest of every thing.I do believe that our nation will experience a decade of stagnancy because all though we experiencing similar problems as the 50s and 60s these are different times and the same actions taken in the 50s and the 60s no longer seem efficient nor possible.
It seems clear to me that our country and those who inhabit it fail to recognize the importance of managing their money.We have dug ourselves a hole that is nearly impossible to climb out of with overspending and war. Yet, had we not spent the money that brought us into such a debt, perhaps our country would not be what is today. Either way the situation is more than unfortunate and with each new leader we elect, a different strategy for relieving this weight off our nations shoulders comes with them. If we wish to be debt free or, even close to it, we have to be willing to sacrifice. Complaining about our debt and actually taking responsibility and action towards fixing it are two different things.
ReplyDeleteRacquel Malanga
preiod 5
I agree that our generation needs to make sacrifices to get the nation's finances back on track but i don't think that we can. There are a variety of luxuries that our grandparents generation didn't. Our generation are consumers in which we have to get the latest technology such as iphones and have the latest trend such as clothes and shoes. Our grandparents generation didn't have all these luxuries we had so they were able to save and only spend on the necessities. With that said our generation have a lot more stress and pressure than our grandparents with studying hard and the competition getting into college.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the American economy over be stagnant over the next decade with other countries manufacturing goods to America such as China and Japan. Mostly American goods were bought back in the 50s and 60s and even though we are a consumer generation we are buying from foreign countries. But we are a smarter and advance generation with a lot more technology so if we do whats right and make the right decisions we can see economic growth.
David Ricks
Period 5
Mariana Ferraz
ReplyDeleteperiod 6
I agree with the first statement, my generation is ill-equipped to make the sacrifices necessary to get the nation's finances under control. Growing up in the late 90's, we didn't have to worry about the nations financial problems because we didnt have any. But now we are in a recession. My generation is very greedy and self-centered. Many college student get credit cards, and don't really know how to use it properly and later go into debt, causing more problems for banks and credit card companies. Our generation is more worried about what party to attend or what movie to watch, they don't really care for the recession that is going on. Hopefully as we get older, we'll learn that with some sacrifices our economy will get better.
Eversince our country has gone into a recession the government has been working hard to get America back on its feet again. Its not going to be easy and its not going to happen over night, but eventually the economy will get better. A perfect example of this is Brazil. Brazil is at its peek right now, and many think its because of our current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva but its not. A few years back Brazil was in alot of debt. Brazil's president at the time was Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Trying to make Brazil's economy better he went to the US to study the United States economy, and with that he created a new currency for Brazil. It took some time but the economy in Brazil is alot better than in 1994. I agree with the statement that it might take about 10 years for the economy to get better but like i said, it won't happen over night.
Mariana Ferraz
Period 6
The article was very interesting in it's comparison of how the general population was handling the economy of WWII and how our generation is handling it today. I agree that our generation today is going to require alot more convincing to sacrifice much more of our wants in order to put up the necessary amount of work that is required to bounce our economy back into a more comfortable state. If these needs aren't our generation really will suffer for quite some time before things go back to the way we think america should be.
ReplyDeleteStephen Goldman
Period 3
Evan Lawlor
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I found the article very interesting. I do not think the current generation has made enough sacrifices to help the economy recover. Incredible greed from large corporations has led to the downfall of the economy and the loss of many jobs.
Portia Gibson
ReplyDeletehr. 4
Unfortunately, i agree with this statement. In our grandparents' generation, they learned how to live off of very little and only spend money on necessities. As the years have gone on, people have wanted to put that struggle behind them. I feel that they believe that they can accomplish this through buying high priced luxury items. This trend has put our generation at a disadvantage, leaving us unaware of how to live without these luxuries, and ill equiped to make sacrifices in hard times like these.
* I also agree that America is an economy in decline. The more peoples' greed for luxuries and necessities increases, the less natural resources there is available to supply these wants and needs. THerefore ruining our economy. The more we use and destroy to meet those needs, the worse the economy will get. With our current economy, i do expect to see roughly a decade of stagnancy.